Josa(朝謝) is a Sino-Korean word, which originally referred to ``to pay one`s reverence and offer cordial thanks``. Its most popular use meaning was ``paying his low reverence and offering cordial thanks to his highness for being appointed as an off...
Josa(朝謝) is a Sino-Korean word, which originally referred to ``to pay one`s reverence and offer cordial thanks``. Its most popular use meaning was ``paying his low reverence and offering cordial thanks to his highness for being appointed as an official subordinate. It is quite different from the word seogyeong(署經) which means the whole procedure for checking ability or capacity of an official subordinate or a regional governor scheduled to becoming appointed. And it sometimes had been used for representing the documents delivered to persons or government office concerned after doing seogyeong. Lately it was even used for representing one of appointing documents or appointing document itself. The existing period of josa documents preserved can be classified into three parts. The first period dated back from the year 1376 AD to 1393. It shows that the josa documents were written in Korean idu sentences. The second period extended from 1402 to 1456. In this period the standard style of josa documents was somewhat changed, for examples; methods of signing downwards from the top level to the lower level officials, writing and sealing the title name according to the documents`` delivery devision, borrowing a few Chinese government official sentences imun(吏文), and so on. The last third period spanned 9 years from 1457 to 1465. But the standard style of this last period was not neatly confirmed and idu elements were totally disappeared. It is true that the appointing documents comprised gwangyo(官敎) and josa documents in the late Goryeo and the early Choseon dynasty. In spite of this fact josa dodument is essentially one of records for noticing the appointment. There were jikcheop(職牒) documents which worked as the other appointing documents in those times. It should be explained that what jikcheop documents were and what relationship they have with Sacheop(謝牒), which were once another name of josa documents.